Some couples having difficulty conceiving may enjoy the suggestion from an Australian infertility expert to have sex every day for seven days before ovulation.  The call for everyday sexual intercourse is a reversal of advice commonly given to couples facing fertility issues that involve poor sperm quality.

Dr. David Greening says his study of 118 men with above average levels of DNA damage to their sperm saw a drop in DNA fragmentation after each man ejaculated for seven days in a row.  Their average DNA fragmentation index was 34% at the beginning of the study but DNA damage had dropped to just 26% over the course of the seven day experiment.

Fertility experts often suggest refraining from sexual activities for several days before attempting intercourse for the sake of conception.  The supposed benefit of this short period of abstinence is that the volume of semen would increase, thereby increasing the chance of conception.  This theory has never been proven conclusively and Greening’s research suggests it is the wrong approach.

Greening doesn’t know yet how, exactly, sperm quality improves with daily ejaculation but suggests the benefit comes from the shorter length of time the sperm is exposed to reactive oxygen species, damaging molecules in the testicular ducts.  Greening, of the Sydney IVF, an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and infertility treatment center, presented his findings to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, meeting this week in Amsterdam.